Saturday, October 23, 2010

I Was Wrong

Originally posted over a year ago, I predicted the public would finally wake up to city's delays on the Hall park if the park didn't get started by now. Now, the city is not allowing the public access to its documents that would show us if the city has been purposely dragging its feet on getting the Hall park construction plans completed. Dalager is still getting the benefit of the doubt, even after his city management delayed the release of the Hall park EIR, the Roads Maintenance Report, the Cardiff Specific Plan, and the City-Wide Traffic Study.

The second Hall property park lawsuit is finally over [In the middle of September 2009!]. The City prevailed in this lawsuit (the city lost the first lawsuit).

Good News:The city can now use their empty property, which it bought years ago and has been paying gobs of bond interest on.

Bad News:The construction of the park is not fully funded.

About a month ago I had an email exchange with the Encinitas Soccer League. They seemed to be unaware of the evidence that the city was responsible for some of the substantial delays in the park construction process. They had been blaming all the delays on Citizens for Quality of Life. I was also asking about park funding issues. The Encinitas Soccer League (ESL) wrote this about funding for the park, "the money is already in the capital budget."

I would really like to move to a post park period where the public will consider other important issues. Unfortunately, I don't think its over. Either Dalager, Stocks, and Bond are going to be roasted for not quickly building the park, or we are going to see some intriguing financing schemes.

Updated note: Once we move past the Hall park, what are Jerome and Danny going to run on?

There is more to Encinitas than a Regional Sports Park. What a waste of time and money considering Carlsbad kids will benefit the most and will not pay a dime, while my family pays over $5,000 in tax money all for one park. Stupid. I don't even want a regional park in encinitas.

The repayment on the Lease Revenue Bonds used to buy the property is $1.5 million a year. After 9 nine years Dalager has spent $13.5 million. All we have is 44 acres of weeds.

The property is contaminated too and has poor access. Both problems will cost a lot of money to fix. The estimates of park construction costs that Chris Hazeltine has been putting out do not consider this.

The timetable and cost estimates appear to be an election tactic to get Dalager re-elected.

The city did not learn its lesson from its Manchester real estate bungle. The city bought and then sold a piece of property for a sports park on Manchester Ave, after not doing enough homework and not realizing all the problems with site.

They followed that by buying the Hall property without even asking questions about pesticide contamination or park access.

It is probably time for an up or down vote on the massive sports park boondoggle. What was once a good idea has morphed into a special use park for a small minority of of Encinitas. If it is true that the majority of citizens do not want the park in its current configuration....then City Hall should be listening. However, we know they are not. The only way to get them to listen is to put it in terms they can understand. We need to have a legal vote....special election. I know that it costs money for a special election but it will be far less than what they are planning to spend and are spending as we speak. If we don't get the park we want it will be our own fault for allowing Dan Dalager and Jerome Stocks to railroad this thing through. I am not against the park but I would like to see something that benefits all the citizens of Encinitas not just the kids who play soccer.

Why is now not the time? This election has brought out some very disturbing behind the scene doings in City Hall. The park plan has been morphed into a special use park for some of the kids of Encinitas. The citizens are clearly divided as evidenced by the various posts on different sites. The time to get this decided once and for all is before we spend huge amounts of money building something that does not serve all the citizens of Encinitas. What part of "use of all citizens" don't they get?

No. They already tried that. Remember when Jerome and Dan tried to sell of some of the Hall park? It was those DARN NIMBYs that came out and told them that would violate the terms of the bond issuance and cease the talk of scaling back the park.

Since a lot of the money for Gaspar is coming from Bilbray, maybe the intention is to have the U.S. Congress let the bond be something it isn't. Hey who knows in this election. Sounds crazy even to me, but everything I have read or seen from the Gaspar camp sounds crazy. What's up with that?

Well, well aren't you a busy little guy with your fake Tony Kranz posts. Do yourself and your candidate and crawl back into your cave. If you really think that people are so stupid as to not see this for what it is.You are probably doing more for Teresa and Tony than any mailer they could put out. Bug off Phony-Tony .we are onto your tricks.

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About Leucadia

Leucadia is a funky little beach community located in North San Diego county in southern California. Leucadia is the north section of the city of Encinitas.

English spiritualists settled the small coastal community of Leucadia in 1870, and are reputed to have danced, in diaphanous white robes in the little Roadside Park (Leucadia Blvd and Hwy 101).

The spiritualists are the reason so many of the streets are named after Greek gods and goddesses. Leucadia is Greek for "a sheltered place." Heritage Eucalyptus trees, planted in the 1880s, still grace the highway. When President Roosevelt passed through Leucadia in an open car during the Depression, local children climbed the Eucalyptus trees to wave to him.

Change happens slowly in this nostalgic little California beach town. In lieu of fast food restaurants and franchise chain stores, Leucadia has two miles of Mom 'n Pop businesses, and that's the way everyone likes it. The town war cry is "Keep Leucadia Funky."

Leucadia played an active role in the rebirth of the classic Highway 101 shield, restored in 1997, and was part of the successful 101 Campaign to have Highway 101 declared an historic route.

Leucadia is experiencing growing pains and culture clash in these first decades of the 21st century...